Mary Etta Litsheim

Sadly, Mary Etta Litsheim, one of our long-time Scandinavian Weavers Study Group members and supporters, died recently and suddenly.  A celebration of her life will be held at Saint Anthony Park Lutheran Church, 2323 Como Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday, December 11th. Visitation is at 10am, followed by a memorial service at 11am.

I personally want to pay tribute to Mary for her long-standing enthusiasm for the work of our group.  I know that her active work life got in the way of attending our meetings–and getting to her loom! She was a trained designer and had many ideas for weavings, and it is seems so unfair that she won’t get the time she hoped for to spend at her Norwegian Hagen tapestry loom.

Mary often responded to notices of upcoming Scandinavian Weavers meetings, saying she would not be able to join us because she was traveling for work. If there was news of upcoming projects or exhibits, she would cheer us on. This is what she was doing, from the notice sent to me by her husband, James Litsheim–a pretty good reason to miss a meeting.

Later in her career Dr. Mary Etta joined the Department of Homeland Security Equal Rights Cadre after a distinguished career in civil rights and academia.Dr. Litsheim was deployed to over 50 disasters including the contiguous United States and territories. While with the Equal Rights Cadre, she was a tireless and accomplished trainer and sympathetic counselor to both employees and survivors.

We were lucky to know Mary, and our deep condolences go out to her family in this sad time.

This is the full announcement of her death.

Dr. Mary Etta Litsheim, Age 74, daughter of Ruby D. (Akre) and James P. Rorris, Esq. died suddenly in a car accident on 11/19 while in California with FEMA to help survivors of the recent fires. She is survived by the love of her life, James E. Litsheim, AIA, daughter, Sara M. Litsheim, son, Scott J. Litsheim, grandson Samuel G. Dustin, brother Eric J. Rorris, close friends Susan Lillehei, Janet Snyder, Jenene Fredell, Laurine Schuster and many friends and valued colleagues. 

Mary Etta, MA, MA, PhD, was mainly a professional homemaker until her children were in their teens. She received her two Master’s degrees one in Design and one in Organization Development as well as her PH.D. in Work and Human Resources Development from the University of Minnesota. She was currently a Certified Neutral Mediator for the State of Minnesota as well as Mediator for the Minnesota Human Rights Commission.  

Her research years were varied in substance; one thesis was a study of persons with disabilities that became an initiator of the nation wide Disability Student Cultural Center movement on college campuses; her PhD dissertation was on the museum education of Norwegian and Norwegian-American artisans which facilitated visits for the family with their Scandinavian relatives in both Norway and Sweden. (Litsheim-TviIde and Jonson and Olson-Akre). Later in her career Dr. Mary Etta joined the Department of Homeland Security Equal Rights Cadre after a distinguished career in civil rights and academia.  Dr. Litsheim was deployed to over 50 disasters including the contiguous United States and territories. While with the Equal Rights Cadre, she was a tireless and accomplished trainer and sympathetic counselor to both employees and survivors.  She emphasized the importance of education and equality – a passion that was threaded throughout her years of life. Volunteer activities were as a board member of the University’s Friends of the Goldstein Museum and President, College of Human Ecology Alumni Society.

Married for nearly 56 years, Mary Etta and James’ lives were full with love for each other and love of family, art and world travel adventures.

A Celebration of Mary Etta’s life will be held at Saint Anthony Park Lutheran Church, 2323 Como Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday, December 11th. Visitation is at 10am, with Memorial Service at 11am. Following lunch at the church an escorted motorcade will proceed to Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Memorials to St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, Wounded Warrior Project, and Southern Poverty Law Center preferred and appreciated.